From updates provided by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Despite limited access and steep terrain, work crews were able to extract both tree sitters safely. Here, they remove Claire Marian Fiocco.
In accordance with a Montgomery County Circuit Court order, law enforcement officers Tuesday and Wednesday, on days 931 and 932 of the Yellow Finch Tree sits, extracted the last two tree sitters at the Yellow Finch blockade in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The Yellow Finch tree-sit blockade was erected on Sept. 5, 2018. Last November, a Montgomery County court issued an injunction against the sitters and supporters on the ground, after which the ground support camp was vacated but tree sitters remained.
Removed and arrested Tuesday was Claire Marian Fiocco, 23, from Dorset, Vt. She was charged with interfering with the property rights of another. She was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bail.
Extracted and arrested Wednesday was Alexander Samuel Parker Lowe, 24, of Worcester, Mass. He was charged with obstruction of justice and interfering with the property rights of another. He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail with no bond.
The law officers began negotiations with the sitters early Tuesday morning, March 23. Between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., deputies went door-to-door to roughly 80 residences in the Cove Hollow Community to pass out flyers to make them aware of what was happening.
Shortly after sunrise, tree-sit supporters rallied at the end of Cove Hollow Road. Over 20 people came throughout the day to show support, holding signs such as “No Pipelines on Stolen Land,” “I (heart) Yellow Finch Tree Sits” and “No Pipeline.”
Early in the morning, crews began negotiations with the sitters in hopes they would come down on their own. They then spent the morning providing access for and setting a crane in place to assist with removal. The work was hampered because the area is steep and difficult to access.
The work site was closed for safety purposes, but visits were made by both Montgomery County Board of Supervisor member Sara Bohn and Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettit. Supervisor Bohn acted as liaison for the local protesters, and Commonwealth Attorney Pettit was consulted regularly for legal guidance since the court order was issued. Legal observers for the protesters were also provided access to observe the work from a safe zone.
Late in the day, the first sitter was extracted as work continued until sunset. The Virginia State Police extraction team worked from a crane-suspended basket to remove her safely from both the sleeping dragon to which she had locked herself and the tree. She was then lowered to the ground in the basket and checked by medics. Crews remained on site overnight as did law enforcement personnel from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, and the Christiansburg Police Department. Extraction work and negotiations with the second tree sitter ceased at sundown.
The second tree sitter was extracted Wednesday, March 24. Neither of the tree sitters suffered any injuries.
A statement from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said, “We are very thankful that both sitters were able to be removed successfully with no injuries to anyone involved. This has been a long process; however, the slow and deliberate planning paid off. We appreciate the patience of everyone involved with the process and especially those living in the Cove Hollow community as we carried out this plan over the past two days.
“We want to express our sincere appreciation to both the Christiansburg Police Department and the Virginia State Police, and specifically the Virginia State Police extraction team who made it possible to safely remove the sitters.
“Lastly, we would like to remind everyone that the Circuit Court injunction remains in effect through November 2021 ‘prohibiting entering, occupying, or otherwise interfering with any of the Mountain Valley Pipelines easements for the project.’”